Police have detained a person of interest in connection with a shooting at Brown University that left two people dead and nine others injured. An earlier shelter-in-place order for the campus and surrounding area has been lifted.
The incident at the Ivy League school marks the 389th mass shooting in the U.S. this year, according to the independent Gun Violence Archive, which defines such events as having four or more victims killed or injured, excluding the attacker.
The gunman opened fire around 4:00 p.m. local time on Saturday inside a first-floor classroom in the Barus and Holley engineering building at the eastern end of campus, officials said.
Final exams were being held in the seven-story building—which houses 117 labs, dozens of classrooms, and three lecture halls—at the time of the attack.
Rachel Friedberg, an economics professor, told local media that the shooting occurred during a review session for her course, led by her teaching assistant. “He said that the shooter came in the doors, yelled something—he couldn’t remember what—and started shooting,” she explained. “Students started to scramble to get away, trying to get lower down in the stadium seating, and people got shot.”
Investigators are still determining how the suspect entered the classroom. Mayor of Providence Brett Smiley noted that while outer doors to the building were unlocked, rooms being used for exams required badge access.
Two students studying in the nearby Rockefeller Library when the alert was issued described sheltering away from windows while awaiting a police escort. Officers later searched their floor, instructed them to drop their bags and raise their hands, and then escorted them out of the building.
Brown University, founded in 1764, is one of the oldest higher education institutions in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Its campus in Providence, Rhode Island, is home to more than 11,000 students.
By James Kisoo
